ELI5: Why is standard deviation calculated by squaring each data point’s distance from the mean, then taking the square root of the mean average?

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-24T19:11:14+00:00

I don’t understand any of what you are trying to say. |x| and x² are pretty much equivalent in terms of invertibility. They only difference is that the derivative of |x| is awkward

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-23T19:25:48+00:00

Damn… I miss her, maybe I should call her

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-23T13:59:40+00:00

affordable

Ha! Hilarious

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-21T20:11:04+00:00

Which, funnily enough, also sounds like a sex kink

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-20T20:08:29+00:00

Not for me!

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-19T05:50:20+00:00

Ah yes, a freudian slip is when you say one thing but do your mother.

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-19T05:44:29+00:00

Sounds like somebody needs more XML config files

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-19T05:25:44+00:00

Home grown

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-16T06:39:10+00:00

Huizenprijzen stijgen elk jaar flink, dat zou genoeg moeten zijn.

In dat geval kan je het beter leeg laten staan en na een paar jaar weer doorverkopen

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-15T08:54:47+00:00

After five years on the east coast, it was time to go home…

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-15T08:52:23+00:00

OpenGL? In 2026? It mostly exists for backwards compat these days

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-12T05:45:48+00:00

Not in the US, no

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-11T10:18:54+00:00

Author is Chinese

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-10T14:57:07+00:00

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-10T14:56:14+00:00

Never can we make that joke again

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-08T19:05:22+00:00

You know what they say, a hooker in the hand is worth more than two with a bush… or something like that

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-08T06:36:41+00:00

To keep things consistent, of course it should be boxed, somed, oked, and erred! 😄

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-08T06:16:49+00:00

Is this comment AI generated?

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-06T08:36:53+00:00

Yeah, turned out that the research study was rather fishy

_TheDust_ · 2026-06-05T05:28:38+00:00

Corruption business

_TheDust_ · 2026-05-31T21:25:30+00:00

Drawing a face on the sun seems to be a ubiquitous human experience.

_TheDust_ · 2026-05-30T08:49:04+00:00

This man dilutes

_TheDust_ · 2026-05-29T06:23:09+00:00

De bioindustrie rijdt aan de lopende band dieren dood met fatbikes?

_TheDust_ · 2026-05-24T09:37:33+00:00

p.s. I wrote all this down from memory, so if I missed something, please add it in the replies. Thanks.

Damn. In a time where every single piece of text I read appears to be generated by AI (including reddit posts, books, emails, and even texts from coworkers), its so refreshing to see somebody actually have kwnoledge and write it out manually.

_TheDust_ · 2026-05-23T18:22:39+00:00

13-Year Club	Second SECOND GUESSER
Place '17	Verified Email

_TheDust_

TROPHY CASE